about in the roadway that indicated they came out of a moving vehicle. >> reporter: and traffic was backed up on tenson as crime scene investigators did their work. but police were able to clear the scene after about an hour or so. the gunman is still on the loose. the shots were fired from a moving car, so police are working on a vehicle description. as soon as we get that from police, we'll certainly pass it along. live in hayward, monte francis. developing news from afghanistan. the death of a husband and son, a soldier from the east bay. 31-year-old sergeant first class james grisham from hayward dried thursday at a military hospital in germany from gunshot wounds he suffered two days earlier in afghanistan. grisham was assigned to the special forces group based in ft. lewis, washington. he had served in iraq and was on his fifth overseas deployment. grisham was a 1999 graduate of mt. eden high school. he is survived by his wife. u.s. secretary of state john kerry made a stop in iraq today.

kerry met with iraq's prime minister for what was described as a very spirited discussion. they talked about iraq's delicate transition to democracy, as the country prepares for upcoming elections. >> we all want to see iraq succeed. such an enormous investment of our treasure, our people, and our money in this initiative. the world has an interest in seeing iraq take a leading role in the world as a functioning democracy. >> the talk also focused on iraq granting iran access to its air space. u.s. officials believe iranian jets are carrying weapons and fighters to support the syrian government. iran and iraq have claimed the flights are for humanitarian purposes. the debate over same-sex marriage is headed for the supreme court this week, in not one but two cases. one of those cases is california's prop 8, of course. the other is based on whether the federal government can refuse to recognize same-sex marriages in states where they are legal. nbc bay area's brian mooar has

this preview. >> reporter: people have been camping outside the supreme court for days to witness history, as the justices take on the first-ever cases, dealing with same-sex marriage. >> marriage equality! >> reporter: on tuesday, the court will hear a challenge to california's proposition 8, which defined marriage as one man, one woman. >> if there was no evidence, none, that allowing gays and lesbians to marry harms the institution of marriage or harms anyone else. >> reporter: the justices could decide whether any state can ban same-sex marriage or simply limit the case to california. >> the last thing we need is to shut down the debate, have the supreme court redefine marriage for everybody. >> reporter: on wednesday, the court considers the defense of marriage act, which denies an array of federal benefits to same-sex spouses, like edy windsor of new york. when her spouse died, the irs sent a $363,000 bill and refused to recognize her marriage.

>> i couldn't believe that they were making a stranger of this person i lived with and loved for 43 something years. >> reporter: in new york, hundreds rallied in support of gay marriage and expressed hopes this week will be a turning point. >> the question before the supreme court this week will be, am i full american or am i not? >> reporter: the very definition of marriage up for debate in the highest court in the land. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. pope francis presided over his first palm sunday mass today in front of an audience of perhaps a quarter million people, telling them to be humble and young at heart. nbc's claudia la vonga reports from rome. >> reporter: pope francis celebrated his first palm sunday mass to mark the thought of holy week on sunday in st. petersburg. he was welcomed by 250,000 people from all over the world,

who were waving olive and palm branches to reenact the triumphant entrance into jerusalem by jesus. once again, the spontaneous pope went offscript and broke away with the original transcript of his homily by telling an off the cuff story about his grandmother telling him when he was young that burial shrouds do not have pockets. again, that's an unusual way of saying, you cannot take it with you. he took the usual round of st. peter's square to welcome all the pilgrims. and once again, he worried vatican security by getting off of it, to shake hands and bless people with his hands. something that exposes him to a little bit of danger. once again, it's all christians, all over the world, that he will keep them young at heart. and considering he's 76 and full of life, he's certainly setting a good example.

hundreds of people gathered at a church in santa rosa this afternoon to remember a teenage boy who was hit and killed at a racetrack last weekend. the family of 14-year-old marcus johnson held a private funeral yesterday and today was a chance for the community to participate as well. johnson was killed when his 17-year-old cousin spun out of control during a pre-race warm-up last weekend. a 68-year-old man was also killed. he owned another race car at that track. today johnson's family, friends, teachers, and coaches shared their memories as they grieved a young life lost too soon. >> i know several of the players, one of them i liked immediately was marcus. he stood out because of his friendly demeanor and hard work ethic. >> johnson was an eighth grader at rincon valley middle school in santa rosa. his family says his dream of all dreams was to drive a ferrari formula one race car on tracks around the world. this evening, the chp is trying to figure out what a man was doing on an open freeway when he was hit by a car and

killed. the chp says it happened about 12:30 this afternoon on eastbound 580 near dutton avenue. the three right lanes were blocked for a few hours while investigators were on the scene. investigators say the man may have been trying to run across the lanes or may have fallen from a nearby overpass. san francisco police arrested 11 people today for vandalism. a tip from a nape led police to the arrest at about 3:00 this morning. police arrested ten adults and one juveniles who was cited and released to his parents. police say they had backpacks filled with 52 cans of spray pai paint, large markers, and stickers with the group's identifying logo. police say the suspects will be charged with felony vandalism and vandal conspiracy. >> next at 5:00, it's been a large process, was bun of the most dangerous roadways in the bay area has been revamped and ready to reopen. plus, actress rita moreno is making an appearance at a

screening of one of her oscar award-winning plots. >> i'm live in san jose where a humanitarian has drawn a crowd of over 15,000 people. what leaders are hoping to learn from this man, coming up in a live report. and we're finishing off a sunny weekend around the bay area. pretty interesting temperatures at this hour. mid- to upper 70s in some spots. cool 50s around san francisco. these almost pre-summer like microclimates about to go away as we track some spring showers coming back in the seven-day forecast. we'll let you know when, when we come right back.

a global humanitarian is calling for an end to have the violence plaguing america and has invited bay area city and county leaders to join him in his campaign. >> nbc bay area's kimberly kerry is live where he's speaking now with more on his message. >> there are more than 1500 people here. among them, those city and county leaders you just mentione mentioned. he'll be traveling across the country from here, spreading his ideas for stress-free, violence-free communities. he just wrapped up tours in india and europe. many of the local lawmakers and city leaders here told us they are hoping to learn something from him and believe in the ideas behind his message. >> what's causing stress in someone's life? is it housing issues "is it

jobs? is it not been respected in their own employment? your peers, your employers don't respect you. how long does that build up before you react? and if we can learn something from here today to identify that, and maybe short circuit that, we might be able to start reducing some of the issues that are plaguing us. >> reporter: he says to create a safe and secure community,s is essential not to limit ourselves to relationships on the internet. he says we need to engage each other and create compassion. i did ask him if he truly believes stress-free, violent-free communities is achievable. he says he is an optimist and believes in his dream. and little by little, he says, we will get there. live in san jose, kimberly tere, bay area news. and still ahead at 5:00, she is the star of the silver screen and stage. >> and today, one of the most highly decorated actresses in hollywood made a bay area appearance.

one of the bay area's most harrowing roadways becomes a thing of the past tomorrow with the opening of two tunnels at devil's slide. those two tunnels are going to be come pricing a mile-long bypass, moving drivers away from a dangerous cliff-hanging stretch of highway 1 between pacifica and half moon bay. the tunnels cost $439 million. devil's slide, known for crumbling rocks crashing down on

the roadway, sometimes deadly accidents there too. plans are to turn the old road into a walking and biking trail. well, a record number of people hit the streets of oak glen today for that city's annual marathon. about 9,100 runners joined the 5ka half and full marathon as well as the full-person team relay. organizers say they were happy to see the number 5ka runners double this year as well as a sunny sky for the race's first time in history. winners of both the men's and women's marathons were from the bay area. the women's winner set a course record. i've got it. >> that was the people elated about the weather. >> yes. >> you talk about the rain the last few times. >> just so beautiful today. let's check in rob mayeda and see what's going on. >> we had temperatures that reached the mid-70s earlier, still hanging on to the mid-70s in morgan hill. 66 in san jose. a cool 58 degrees as the sea breeze cranks up now into san francisco. and low 70s in towards the tri-valley areas, east of 680.

tomorrow, probably not going to get there. we're going to have a stronger sea breeze and some extra low clouds to wake up to tomorrow morning, and there you see the winds, at times up to 28 miles per hour. then by 8:00, 9:00, we'll see the wind speeds start to back off. as we get into the workweek, air quality is relatively good, because the wind is stirring up any problems of ground level ozone. that's not the issue. it's the pollen, which is still really off the charts here. take your pick, from oak and mold and ash and mulberry still in the high range. we're talking about a chance of seeing some showers for the middle part of the week, that may provide some short-term allergy relief to parts of the bay area. tonight and tomorrow morning, what you'll notice will be the return of the low clouds. they might thicken up enough, we might see misty skies for a few areas, especially around the peninsula and coast. the bigger changes will arrive as we head into tuesday and wednesday, as a trough of low pressure starts to approach the coast. instead of this region of high pressure, that's had this run of day weather, the system right here will break things down and give us the chance, at least from about wednesday into friday, o of seeing a few

passing showers from time to time. mostly, we'll be looking at partly cloudy skies. for parts of the north bay, especially, you'll see a chance of some passing showers for about two to three days. next weekend, keep a close eye on this cut offlow that will form and swing off down the coast. we could see rain as we get into saturday and early sunday. right now, as long as that moves inland across california, that is a possibility for next weekend. the nature of these cutoff lows, sometimes they can scoot through southern california. we'll see if this holds up. for the middle part of the week, you can see a chance for those isolated showers. tuesday into wednesday, there's really not a whole lot showing up in the futurecast here. mainly in the hilltop locations, what moisture we do have will be forced to rise up and give us a few scattered showers. the better chance of bringing us more moisture comes with that cutoff low, late friday into saturday. tonight, areas of low clouds will start to fill in once again. mostly 40s tomorrow morning.

highs tomorrow running a little bit cooler. mid- to rp 60s around san jose. should not have 70s around the tri-valley tomorrow. those westerly winds will keep things mainly in the 60s there and kind of a cool day here around the peninsula. upper 50s to low 60s in oakland with some areas of morning mist as we kick off the workweek. the forecast will call for a chance of seeing some showers for the north bay late on tuesday, then wednesday through friday, a chance of seeing those scattered showers running a little bit cooler. and temperatures pay try to climb a little bit as we head towards next weekend. and for now we'll say, stay tuned. a chance of seeing some rain. it all depends where that cutoff low goes, which is a sure sign we're in late march, early april. march madness arrives in the forecasting when these temperatures can wobble around a bit. even though it's a big weekend for easter plans, now, a chance of spring showers. >> and congratulations to your arizona wildcats. >> yes, they're still in it for now ppt. let's bring in henry from

comcast sports net. >> hello. we've got plenty of golf and basketball coming up for you, coming up in sports. tiger woods' resurgence hits a snag in florida. but first, the stanford women's team earned the top seed in their bracket. but that didn't stop number 16 seed tulsa from seeking an upset. we had a good one. highlights, coming up, next.

welcome back to nbc bay area. can anyone stop stanford? the cardinal women's basketball team drove through the pac 12 en route to their seventh consecutive conference title. with the top seed in the spokane region, stanford earned their right to host their first round game at naples pavilion today. tulsa did not back down from the battle. in fact, end of the first, tulsa was making it pretty tough. mariah turner gets the offensei rebound and puts it back in. we're tied at 24 at the half. early second half, stanford getting back on track.

sarah james, three pointer is good. stanford up three. and the ladies would extend their lead to 13. shenay drives hard if the lay-in. stanford survives a first half scare. they win, 72-56. >> we're a little anxious, coming out. we knew that the first half. we knew we had to be very aggressive coming out the second. i'm really proud of our team battles. we know we have to play for 40 minutes. i think we played really hard for 20 minutes. i don't know how long we can last playing for 20 minutes in the tournament. but i know our team is hungry and after this we'll be coming out and playing every possession like it's our last. >> let's slide over to the diamonds. giants and angels in cactus league action. giants down 1-0 in the fifth. one out, two on for eric aybar. and two batters later, zito trikes out josh hammiltohamilto. tide at four in the ninth.

buster posey, you know he can swing with the best of them. hunter pence will tap home plate. giants win, 5-4 is your final. dodgers and as in spring training. raleigh fingers in attendance at the game. bottom of the first, one on, one out. jed lauery facing josh beckett. he hits the two-run shot. lowery, team-leading 13 rbis. derek norris, the catcher, he can also hit. a little pop in that bat. two-run shot. norris' fifth of the spring. as win, 7-4 is your final. golf, anyone? final round of the arnold palmer at bay hill. sergio garcia's tee shot on ten landed in the tree. look at that. he's actually in the tree. you rarely see that. he hits it, no look, one handed, and gets back on the fairway.

tiger woods started the day with a two-stroke lead. birdies the second hold. moving to 12 under, but play would be suspended, wind, rain, and tornado warnings stopped the play. they hope to resume on monday. plus, the latest on seth curry. he's confident he will play tomorrow against the l.a. lakers. kobe bryant will be in town. however, x-rays were negative. still no word on whether seth curry will play in that game. but he's staying positive. keep your fingers crossed. every time he turns that ankle, people get very nervous this time of the season. >> he more than turned it last night. that was bad. >> absolutely. they're calling it a sprained ankle, but we'll see. he may be ready to go. >> thanks, henry. >> when we come back, a hollywood and broadway legend makes a bay area appearance. >> we'll tell you where, who, when. all of that, coming up.

her resume is impressive. list of awards, accolades, classic hollywood hits, and tonight, one of the most well-known names in show bibiz telling her story in the east bay. >> it's rita moreno and she's here for a screening of, what else, "west side story." it's also a fund-raiser for the upgrade to digital at the small, independent theater. moreno is out with a memoir and will be signing new books this afternoon. she's one of the new artists to ever win an oscar, emmy, and tony. and later we'll hear from the hollywood legend about her love of the bay area and her life in hollywood. >> thanks for watching nbc bay area news at 5:00. more local news at 6:00. >> good night. on this sunday night -- massive storms. millions in the path of severe weather. heavy snow in the midwest, the

threat of tornadoes in the south, and tonight this quick moving storm takes aim at the east coast. tough talk. blunt warning to iraq from the secretary of state. stop the weapons from getting to syria. tomorrow's tv. how one company is redefining itself by up-ending the traditional tv production model. attracting big-name actors and giving viewers what they want, when they want it. and -- taking it off. the city that is setting a standard when it comes to helping people lose weight. vi . captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. easter may be just a week away but tonight winter is still on the minds of millions from the midwest to the northeast as yet another big snowmaker marches across the country.

this one is expected to impact at least 15 states from kansas on into the mid-atlantic states leaving over a foot of snow in some spots. folks living in the south are getting their own spring surprise from that same system. heavy rains, violent winds and even tornadoes. our colleagues at the weather channel have it all covered for us tonight. let's begin with janel klein in st. louis. janel, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. with green grass and temperatures in the 50s yesterday, most people here in st. louis had already packed away their plows and parkas. but that powerful spring storm has dumped up to a foot of snow in the midwest and it is threatening to bring even more, both here and as far away as long island. this is not what spring is supposed to look like. snowy and blustery conditions made for slick roads and shoveling today in st. louis, the area hit with up to ten inches of snow while other areas of missouri could see up to a foot when all is said and done later tonight.